Traditionally, there is a technique for causing a certain processor to emulate the execution of a program described using a command set that is included in another processor and different from a command set included in the certain processor. In addition, there is a technique for testing a program executed by multiple processors to check whether or not exclusive control is appropriately executed on a memory shared by and accessible from the multiple processors.
As related art, a technique for activating a periodic activation program during the execution of another specific program by a processor among multiple processors and stopping the periodic activation program after the termination of the execution of the specific program has been disclosed, for example. In addition, for a multi-program system in which multiple programs may be executed in parallel, there is a technique for delaying the execution of commands of the programs that are being executed and thereby increasing a time period for which a hardware resource shared by the programs is used. Furthermore, for a multi-processor system, there is a technique for providing an instruction to cancel the interruption of the execution of a program in a state in which all processors interrupt the program at program interruption points for the processors, simultaneously restarting the execution of the program, and testing exclusive control to be executed on an information resource.
As examples of related art, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications Nos. 08-77039, 03-158936, and 05-2500 are known.
According to the conventional techniques, however, it is difficult to detect a failure, occurred during the time when a certain processor among multiple processes configured to emulate the execution of a program to be emulated emulates the execution of a code for accessing a memory, of exclusive control executed on the memory. Specifically, as a time period for which the certain processor emulates the execution of the code for accessing the memory is shorter, a probability at which another processor emulates the execution of the code for accessing the memory within the time period is lower. It is, therefore, difficult to detect the failure of the exclusive control executed on the memory.